Koharu Utatane
is a former member of the dissolved Team Tobirama. She and her teammate Homura Mitokado now serve as members of the Konoha Council. Background In the anime, shortly after the foundation of the village, she was shown to be part of a class alongside Homura Mitokado and Torifu Akimichi. Later she watched on, as Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzō Shimura were about to spar, along with Torifu and Kagami Uchiha. Under the guidance of the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, Koharu and her teammates, Hiruzen and Homura, completed numerous missions and became close friends. On one mission during the First Shinobi World War as Tobirama's Escort Unit, the team had been surrounded by the brutal Kinkaku Force. Koharu suggested that they wait and ambush the opposition since the Kinkaku Force did not know their exact location or numbers, thinking that would give them somewhat of an advantage. She later watched on as Hiruzen, Danzō, and finally the Second, offered himself as the decoy, allowing them to escape.Naruto chapter 481, pages 4-10 When Hiruzen became the Third Hokage, Homura and Koharu became his councillors. With their years of experience, knowledge and their unending effort to make Konohagakure a better place, they eventually gained similar respect and social status as the Hokage himself. Many years later, during the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox's Attack, Koharu was seen fighting alongside her teammates and many other shinobi, attempting to restrain the beast and drive it out of the village before it could cause any more mayhem and destruction.Naruto chapter 503, page 7 Personality Koharu is a stern and strong-willed individual who is noted to always have Konoha's best interests in mind. She holds the belief that the group is more important than any of its individual members, and as such, seeks to act in the best interest of the village as a whole rather than its individual citizens, which often clashes with the Third and Fifth Hokage's view. Like Homura, she is more militant than the Hokage she serves under, to the point of leaning towards Danzō's way of thinking. This became apparent when she and Homura supported Danzō's suggestion to exterminate the Uchiha Clan upon learning of their plans of a coup d'etat against Konohagakure, believing it to be the most advantageous course of action for the village's sake. Later, they wanted to restrict Naruto Uzumaki's movements, and after Pain's defeat she agreed that Tsunade was partly to blame for Konoha's destruction. She has also been described as a humble person. Appearance In her youth, Koharu was a beautiful kunoichi with dark eyes. Her hair is pulled back in a twin bun locked by a traditional Japanese hair pin with two pearls dangling off the side. She also had fringes that covered her forehead protector. Her shinobi outfit consisted of a simple black outfit, a grey breastplate, arm guards, fishnet tights with a skirt over it, a pouch strapped to her back with bandages, and regular shinobi sandals. During the Nine-Tails' attack on Konoha, she was seen in the same outfit as her teammates Hiruzen and Homura, complete with a gauntlet on her right arm and mesh armour. In her old age, she maintains her original hairstyle without the bangs. The pearls on her hair needle have also increased and tassels were added to the other end. Her earrings are also considerably longer. As a member of the Konoha Council, Koharu wears a simple long kimono, closed by an obi, a jacket, and a sash over it. Koharu has also taken to squinting, barely opening her eyes at any point in time. By the reign of the Seventh Hokage, Koharu aged considerably. She gained deep wrinkles, her hair turned white and was longer, and her eyes became heavily drooped. She also requires a cane to move about. Abilities In Book of Bright Light, Danzō alleges that Koharu and Homura are not very skilled and have never done anything noteworthy on the battlefield. He claims they've only lived for so long due to luck and by aligning themselves to more talented allies. In the anime, Koharu is shown to be highly perceptive, detecting an explosive tag hidden in a wall, extracting it, and noticing that the tag was decades old.Naruto episode 200 Part I Chūnin Exams Koharu is first seen in the series at a meeting between the Konoha Council and the jōnin-level shinobi of the village. They discussed Hayate's death and the looming threat of Orochimaru. She tells them that they already have the Anbu gathering information in other countries and that they shouldn't be too focused on Orochimaru as the enemy may use it to their advantage. Search for Tsunade After the death of the Third, Homura and Koharu find Jiraiya spying on women bathing, an action which Homura reprimanded him for. They then discussed the situation between Konoha and Suna which Jiraiya said he was fully aware of. Koharu then tells him that no one knows when another nation may try to invade them again. She then tells him that they need to hold an executive committee meeting but before that they needed to select a Hokage as trouble could come at the village from any angle. She then attempts to tell Jiraiya the decision that was made at a meeting that they held on the previous day, however Jiraiya cuts her off and declines the post that they were offering to him. Homura tells him that it had already been decided as he was the most eligible person for the post. Jiraiya however makes mention of another candidate that was possibly even more qualified than he was. She then acknowledges the fact that Tsunade was in fact eligible for the post, but her location was unknown. When Jiraiya states that he will go and look for Tsunade, Homura insists that three Anbu accompany him, Jiraiya declines once again and says that there is no need to have him "followed" because he wasn't running away. He however did request to bring one person along with him: Naruto Uzumaki. Konoha Plans Recapture Mission In the anime, when Tsunade learns that the village is rigged with explosive tags, Koharu and Homura volunteer to aid in the search and removal of the tags. Tsunade sends them to an abandoned section of the village where they find an explosive tag lodged in the walls of one of the buildings. Bringing this back as evidence to Tsunade, they also note that the tag was really old judging from how the seal was written on it. Interlude In Naruto's Footsteps: The Friends' Paths About two years later, in an effort to restore Konoha's reputation, Tsunade proposed to host an early Chūnin Exams in Konoha, hoping to get Sunagakure's approval and assistance as co-sponsors. When meeting with the Fifth Kazekage and the Sand Siblings, Kankurō quickly realised that Konoha's reputation was not the only reason for this unorthodox proposal. It was explained that with their intel on the Akatsuki suggested that they would be making a move soon, she hoped this improvised exams would lure the enemy out. Ultimately, it was agreed to host the first exam in Konoha and the second exam in Suna, conceding that the Sunagakure's location would make for a better survival exam.Naruto: Shippūden episode 394 Part II Tenchi Bridge Reconnaissance Mission After Shizune becomes increasingly uneasy about how liberal Tsunade was with Naruto and the missions he went on that constantly put him at risk of encountering Akatsuki, she speaks to Homura and Koharu, who in turn, hold a meeting with Tsunade. Koharu tells Tsunade that Naruto was no ordinary boy, Homura voices that as such shouldn't be leaving the village at all and should have been kept under constant supervision. Throughout the whole meeting Homura remains predominantly neutral in the conversation. After Shizune states that as Kakashi was still recuperating so a interim leader would have to be selected, Koharu tells Danzō to enter the room. He suggest that someone from the Anbu be selected to lead the team, to which Koharu agrees. Twelve Guardian Ninja After Tsunade deploys a team of Anbu to capture Danzō and the unknown assailant that he had been secretly communicating with, they are captured and brought back to the village. During the interrogation, Homura and Koharu intervene. She informs them that while Tatsuji had been passing information to Danzō, he was also relaying the same to them as well. She then tells that even though they are uncertain that Sora possesses a special ability, the people that attacked the Fire Temple may be after him as well. Pain's Assault When Tsunade tells Kōsuke to head back to Mount Myōboku and get Naruto after Pain invades Konoha, before he is able to leave, Homura and Koharu interrupt saying that she should leave Naruto where he was safe. Homura then tells Tsunade that, according to Danzō, the leader of Akatsuki was heading the assault and their target was Naruto. Koharu tells Tsunade that although she overlooked it last time, this time was different as this was the man that killed even Jiraiya. As Tsunade physically accosts them, Koharu demands that she let them go. Tsunade then tells them both that Naruto was a shinobi of Konoha and not a tool of the village. She also tells them that unlike Jiraiya and Hiruzen, and even Chiyo, they lacked faith and trust in the younger generation. After initially reacting with shock, they tell her to do whatever she pleased, giving up on trying to change her mind. Koharu is not seen again until the conclusion of the invasion at a meeting of the country and village's heads. She informs the Fire Daimyō and his delegation that Tsunade was still in a coma and that they couldn't decide on a plan for the village when they didn't know when she would wake up. She also used the opportunity to lay partial blame on Tsunade for the invasion. Five Kage Summit When Kakashi returns to the village from the Land of Iron, and informs the council that Danzō had died, Koharu states that they'd have to hold a meeting to appoint a new Hokage immediately. She then tells Kakashi that they had no choice but to nominate him for Hokage. Later, at another meeting with the daimyō, as they prepared to appoint Kakashi as the new Hokage, the meeting is interrupted by a ninja (Might Guy in the anime) who tells them that Tsunade has awoken from her coma. She is later seen at a war council meeting that Tsunade calls. She tells them that foremost they need to acquire tools and provisions and that the forces would be split into a war division and support division. She then tells them to bring her a list of all the ninja in the village. Paradise Life on a Boat Fourth Shinobi World War: Confrontation In the anime, with the war taking place, Ebisu gathers Koharu, Homura and the villagers for a meeting about the possibility of an attack. Both Koharu and Homura are visibly sleeping during the meeting only to awaken when the Allied Mothers Force have their say in the matter.Naruto: Shippūden episode 281 Blank Period Sakura Hiden: Thoughts of Love, Riding Upon a Spring Breeze When the Sixth Hokage meets with the Land of Fire's daimyō to discuss Konoha's annual budget, Koharu accompanies him. New Era Mitsuki's Disappearance Arc In the anime, when two chūnin gate guards were attacked by unknown assailants, the village was put on lockdown. After one of the guards' condition was stabilised, Homura and Koharu oversaw Ino Yamanaka's probing of the guard's mind for answers, learning that Mitsuki had left willingly with the attackers. When it was revealed by Naruto that Mitsuki was in fact Orochimaru's son, the elders were furious at such a secret being kept from them. Naruto rationalised this on the grounds that Orochimaru's conduct has changed from before and that he was aiding in investigating the Ōtsutsuki. Despite this, noting the unpredictable nature of Orochimaru, the elders insisted that they had to treat the Oto-born boy as a threat. As the council and Hokage continued to talk about how best to deal with this, Kakashi voiced his overall approval of Naruto's actions, noting that Naruto would never do anything he thought would bring danger to the village and that the elders wouldn't even consider letting the boy into the village had they known the full story to begin with. Trivia * The name means "late summer", while her family name means "nap". * Studio Pierrot's Settei sheets of Koharu show that she was 160cm when Tobirama died. * According to the databook(s): ** Her favourite food is umeboshi and iced noodles with mixed vegetables. Her least favourite food is yogurt. References de:Koharu Utatane fr:Koharu Utatane